The Sweetest Man Alive
by The 4th Snake
Summary: Iris has a bad day on her way to work.


Iris was not having a good day. It was one of those days where it felt like all the good things that had happened to you recently needed balancing out and the universe decided to dump all of it on you at once.

First off, it was raining. It was a Weather Wizard-level storm, but she knew for a fact that the super criminal was still locked up at Iron Heights. It hadn't been so bad as she left her home for work, but it had really picked up by the time of the traffic jam. It seemed the sudden downpour had prompted a sudden attack by King Shark, causing a large pileup in the middle of her regular route to work. It seemed Barry had taken longer than usual to take the villain down, thanks to the slippery asphalt. Thank God her phone's internet access hadn't been disrupted or she'd have gone stir crazy trapped in her car. She normally liked the sound of the rain when she wasn't actually out in it, but this was too much.

By the time the police were able to redirect the traffic, the next little gift from the universe arrived: her car stalled. In the middle of the street, surrounded by equally annoyed drivers whose growing irritation was now being directed her way. She had to roll down the window and expose herself to the torrent of water to indicate for them to go around her. As she did so, she hurriedly dialled for a mechanic on her phone. She wished Wally was still working as a mechanic, but he had left that line of work ages ago, so she doubted he'd have the tools necessary to help her. She would have to make do a non-speedster instead.

It took him around twenty minutes to get there with his tow truck. Only then could she call for a cab to get her to work. Fortunately, she had broken down just outside a hotel awning, which she could get to easily while staying mostly dry, thanks to the umbrella she had wisely brought with her. When the cab arrived, she hurried to get in, only for a sudden gust of wind to blow her umbrella inside out, exposing her to the torrent of water from the sky, and dragging her a few steps towards a large puddle that another car had no moral issues driving through.

While the cab ride itself took about ten minutes, even with the heat kindly turned up by the driver, it did little to help dry her by the time she reached the office. By the time she got inside, she couldn't even be sure how much of the water ruining her makeup was the rain and how much was her own tears.

She received a number of looks from her colleagues as she trudged towards her office - from amusement to sympathy to a few looks of irritation from the janitorial staff. She closed the door to her office and closed the blinds before she threw down her briefcase, angrily drove her umbrella into the trashcan and dropped into her leather chair, not even caring that it too was getting soaked.

She sat in silence for a minute, before finally standing to remove her jacket and place it on the radiator by the window. Hopefully, it would be dry and wearable before anyone walked in and saw her black bra peeking through her clingy white blouse. As she finished getting the jacket to stay in place, she felt a sudden gust of wind on her back. Dreading that the door had been opened, she whirled around, arms covering her chest, only to find the door still closed.

Curious, she looked around the small office and found a large sports bag on her desk. Cautiously, she unzipped the bag and peered inside. Her face lit up as she saw it was filled with a new set of clothes - blouse, jacket, trousers, shoes, even underwear - a makeup kit, two towels, her favourite hairdryer and brush, a flask of warm coffee and a nice, hot meal. She also noted that a new umbrella and a fresh coat were hanging on the coat rack by the door.

Even without the residual static electricity hanging in the air before her, Iris knew who was behind this sudden act of kindness. She smiled for the first time all day as she began removing the items from her little care package. Though the rest of Central City might know The Flash as "The Fastest Man Alive", to Iris West-Allen, Barry Allen was the Sweetest Man Alive.


End file.
